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GIRLS LEADING

GIRLS LEADING

From Rural Economies to Global Solutions

Many of the most pressing global issues—climate change, economic development, health, and education—demand that we consider rural girls. The world changes as her life changes. Join the conversation at #GirlsLeading.

REUTERS/Caren Firouz

Many of the most pressing global issues—climate change, economic development, health, and education—demand that we consider rural girls. The world changes as her life changes. Join the conversation at #GirlsLeading.

Why rural girls

RURAL GIRLS FRONT AND CENTER

An estimated 3 billion of the world’s 6.9 billion people live in rural areas of the developing world. More than 60 percent of them live in poverty. With women and girls overrepresented among the poor, rural girls face the triple challenges to their empowerment and well-being by virtue of their youth, gender, and location. Investing in rural girls’ health and safety as well as their personal and professional development has the potential to transform rural economies, leading to progress on a whole range of the Sustainable Development Goals, from reducing poverty to improving health and addressing climate change.

Girls Leading: From Rural Economies to Global Solutions continues the work begun in 2009 on the Chicago Council's Girls in Rural Economies project, providing an update on the progress made since the 2011 release of Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies.

The 2018 Girls Leading report brings together 20 authors sharing their unique perspectives on rural girls and the impact they have on global priorities and the ways in which they are impacted by a changing global landscape.

Despite some progress since 2011, the potential of rural girls to transform societies has not yet been adequately prioritized. Building on the recommendations from 2011, this year’s call to action is broken down by age from birth to age 18.